Spokeswoman Trish Carter said Morrison, 26, Bullhead City, bolted and fled on foot when a corrections officer opened the door of the transport vehicle to escort the inmate to a pre-trial hearing. The officer remained with another inmate as Morrison ran north from the courthouse in the direction of his wife’s apartment on Copper Street.
Morrison evaded capture initially, but his wife, 24-year-old Ashley Morrison, was arrested the day after he escaped. She was booked into jail for conspiracy for allegedly purchasing items intended for his use while on the run.
It is not yet clear whether Mr. Morrison received any of the items his wife allegedly purchased for him. Court records indicate that Mrs. Morrison’s roommate, Ashley Bamber, told authorities she was with Mrs. Morrison when she purchased a knife, compass, flashlight, water, tuna and crackers for her husband at Wal-Mart on Jan. 17.
Court records indicate that state employees working near the courthouse watched as Mr. Morrison fled during his getaway, with a vehicle seemingly tailing him.
“It was learned that witnesses at the Department of Economic Security had seen a male subject running with a tan colored sedan following him,” a court record stated. “It seemed that Morrison was very animated and communicating with the driver.”
The same document indicated that Bamber told investigators she allowed Mrs. Morrison to borrow her tan sedan the morning of the escape. She reportedly told officers that she only allowed Mrs. Morrison to use the vehicle to attend her husband’s hearing and was unaware of any escape plot.
Sheriff’s deputies responded about 4 p.m. Monday when a citizen indicated a subject matching Mr. Morrison’s description was seen at the Copper Street apartment complex where his wife resides. Sheriff Sheahan said Morrison fled on foot as deputies approached.
Sheahan said he had extra officers available due to a SWAT team training exercise. They were deployed to form a perimeter and officers closed in, taking Morrison into custody just after 5 p.m. without incident along the craggy wash extending north from the area of Baker’s Chevron and Carl’s Jr.
Sheahan said investigators have also located an encampment on the fringe of the community where they believe Mr. Morrison spent most of his time after the escape. The sheriff said an assault rifle was located at the encampment.
Sheahan said investigators believe Morrison left his encampment in an effort to retrieve items from his wife’s apartment when he was spotted. Morrison was originally jailed for assaulting his wife in Lake Havasu City.
Morrison previously fled from Havasu police and authorities in the Lake Mead National Recreation area before he was taken into custody in Florida last year and was brought back to Arizona where he was held awaiting trial at the time of his escape.
